Did the Angels Sing?

The angels sing in our traditional Christmas hymns. “Angels we have heard on high sweetly singing . . .” “Glooooooooria in excelsis Deo . . .” “Glory, glory! How the angels sing . . . .” We could list more!

Did they really sing?

The Bible says: And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. . . . And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men (Luke 2:10-11, 13-14).

All of these words mean: proclaiming, saying, affirming.

So, did the angels sing?

You’ll have to ask the shepherds when you get to heaven! (I’ll ask them, too!)

What is really important is the content of their message. The single angel at the beginning and the multitude who formed a choir announced the Savior!

I’m going to separate the Bible passage in “chunks” so we can appreciate what they said. Listen to their message:

good tidings of great joy,

to all people.

 born this day in the city of David

a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

praising God,

Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Look again at these sayings, Old Testament prophecies fulfilled:

• Born in the city of David, i.e. Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)
• A Savior (Matthew 1:21, Luke 1:47)
• Christ the Lord (Psalm 110:1)
• Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6)

I love this scene! First, an angel spokesman appears. The Bible says the glory of the Lord shone round about them (the shepherds): and they were sore afraid. I don’t think this was a group of overgrown chickens here. These men weren’t afraid of lions or wolves or bears. They knew how to use weapons and to defend their sheep from harm. (Think of young David.) So, this must have been an appearance to remember. Great light! Such that they were afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Can you imagine it? Not only one angel, much light, and an awesome message. But now, many, many angels praising God! So super cool!

 

No wonder the shepherds wanted to go and see for themselves! No wonder they said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

Love the next phrase: And they came with haste. They ran! They didn’t wait. They didn’t mosey along the road. They ran . . . .

And they found what they were looking for:

the babe lying in a manger.

This Christmas, may we, like the shepherds, run to Jesus.

May we worship Him, and later, may we tell of Him to all who seek the Truth.

Do you think the angels sang?

                                      (If not specified, Scripture quotations are from Luke, chapter 2.)